“Unexpected x2 (a.k.a. “how much is that doggie in the window”)”. Taiwan, 2011. (Photo and caption by Asian (Street) Impressions)

Soviet cosmonaut and the first man to travel in space, Yury Alekseyvich Gagarin (1934–1968) arriving in London for a Russian trade fair. (Photo by Douglas Miller/Getty Images)

Retired 90 year old Frank Foss of St. Petersburg, Florida, with his home made banjo, made from a frying pan, a length of wood and some strings. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 2nd July 1972

Members of the Women's Fire Brigade with their Chief Officer, March 1916. (Photo by Topical Press Agency)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)

A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) female fighter adjusts a mortar in northern Deir al-Zor province ahead of an offensive against Islamic State militants, Syria February 21, 2017. (Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters)

People play with foam at a water park in Yantai, Shandong province, China June 16, 2107. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)